Cecilia Bartoli

DOLCE DUELLO Cecilia & Sol 4832473

. . . [Gabetta and Bartoli] have unearthed and polished a collection of little gems . . . indeed the two Caldara world premieres are the stand-out tracks on the disc for me . . . [the performances are shot through with a] sense of effervescent, quirky camaraderie . . . the atmosphere is one of congenial, collaborative music-making . . . everything here feels like chamber music rather than virtuoso display. That's not to say that there's any shortage of the vocal pyrotechnics which are Bartoli's stock-in-trade . . . She and Gabetta are so perfectly in sync during their joint flurries of semiquavers . . . [and in the slower arias] the two mirror one another's ornamentation, articulation and even tone-colour to mesmerising effect . . . this collection of "sweet duets" is a delight from start to finish.

Few recordings this year have brought me as much sensual pleasure as Cecilia Bartoli's unlikely collaboration with Sol Gabetta . . . glorious music-making . . . Gabetta is as much on show as Bartoli -- and what a nimble, stylish interpreter of baroque music she turns out to be . . . A tonic from first note to last.

Record Review /
Richard Morrison,
The Times (London) / 10. November 2017

. . . as serious and thoroughly researched as we've come to expect of Bartoli's projects . . . [Gabetta delivers] a sparky performance of Boccherini's Cello Concerto; everything gets supple support from the ensemble led by her violinist brother. Gabetta's light touch is the ideal foil for Bartoli's expressive agility, whether the two of them are sparring in separate displays of virtuosity, weaving melancholy webs around each other, or hurtling along in parallel.

Record Review /
Erica Jeal,
The Guardian (London) / 16. November 2017

. . . baroque arias, very well sung by Bartoli . . . extremely well played by Gabetta, one of today's outstanding players . . . well worth your attention.

Record Review /
David Mellor,
Classic FM (London) / 20. November 2017

. . . ["Dolce Duello" showcases] Bartoli's magnificent voice and Gabetta's eloquent playing of her 1759 Guadagnini cello . . . supported by Cappella Gabetta under the accomplished violin of concertmaster Andrés Gabetta . . . they provide idiomatic accounts of the overtures from Hasse's "Il Ciro riconosciuto" and Pollarolo's "Ariodante", as well as, and best of all, a suitably furious "Dance of the Furies" from Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice" . . . [these baroque arias] can have no better interpreter than Cecilia Bartoli.

Record Review /
Jim Pritchard,
Seen and Heard International / 02. December 2017

. . . the two women deliver one sweet delight after the other . . . Bartoli sounds wonderful . . . her coloratura technique remains a wonder, and voice and vibrato are the epitome of steadiness. The sweet warmth of her unpressured instrument seems ideally suited to her repertoire . . . Both women perform multiple technical wonders -- Bartoli's long-breathed lines remain a miracle -- while Gabetta is tasked with even faster sprints and leaps. It's a lovely concept, and the blend of the two lighter-voiced instruments works. Both women showcase their artistry in Caldara . . . Cecilia, ever the expressive artist, is complemented by Sol's affecting sound, and by her ability to maintain tension through silence. The sections where Sol holds forth solo above orchestral accompaniment are as compelling as Cecilia's rapt vocals . . . Each of the remaining pieces offers delights of its own . . . Sol's playing is extremely exciting in Vivaldi's "Di verde ulivo" from Tito Manlio, and both women are the epitome of sweetness in "What passion cannot Music raise and quell!" from Handel . . . Equally rewarding is the way Cecilia invests the lightly voiced highs of Handel's "Son qual stanco pellegrino" from "Arianna in Creta" with touching sweetness, and the drop-dead gorgeous sounds she brings to the world premiere recording of an aria by Porpora . . . baroque and Bartoli aficionados alike will want to start off the year with Cecilia and Sol.

Bartoli is on her best vocal behaviour . . . [enjoy her smooth vocal line and] relish some beautifully expressive work from both performers, the aria by Gabrielli from the oratorio "San Sigismondo" being particularly moving . . .

Behind the Sister Act, all dolce and dolcetti, lies some serious scholarship, delectable performances and the small matter of three world premiere recordings. So, yes, Sol Gabetta's red dress may be by Vivienne Westwood and Cecilia Bartoli's hair may be done up to a T by Billi Currie but lend an ear to these Baroque arias with their important role for cello, and you'll soon be transported to a more purely musical plane . . . It was canny to open with an expansive aria by Caldara, heard in its first ever recording; "Fortuna e Speranza" from "Nitocri". Gabetta opens this eloquently and there is some surprisingly ripe orchestral support from the accompanying band, Cappella Gabetta . . . The aria's contradictory emotions, and its expressive breadth, are conveyed with exemplary control, Bartoli's command of dynamics imperious even when the music is at its most virtuosic. Albinoni is represented by one aria from his opera "Il Nascimento dell'aurora" and it's a stunning aria di bravura, packed with rapid divisions . . . Skies may ever be blue in the land of Cecilia and Sol, but the musical virtues of this disc are rock solid and utterly captivating.

Cecilia Bartoli and cellist Sol Gabbeta make for valiant dueling partners who converse, parry and riposte in spirited combat. Bartoli is velvet-toned, vivacious and voluptuous as ever. Her diction is sharp as a sabre; attack and intonation are spot on target. Add to that a gamut of vocal timbres, colours and an expressive quiver and you have an intoxicating mix. Argentinian cellist Sol Gabetta has an equally flawless technique . . . the ensemble Cappella Gabetta offers lithe and stylish support.